One of the interesting aspects of our Alaska cruise was being cut off from the rest of the world in terms of voice and data services. Either we were (a) out at sea, (b) in Canada, or (c) in Alaskan ports that initially frightened me due to messages on my phone about roaming.
(I declined to get an International data or voice plan while we were away, esp. since my phone didn't yet support GSM contact, which it now, under ICS, does. I also declined the extortionate phone or data plans available through the cruise ship itself.)
So, how well did I survive?
Well, not bad. I would have like to have shared more stuff real-time. I took extensive notes, which I'm still trying to carve out time for turning into blog posts on the trip itself. I also wasn't able to do much in terms of posting pictures through Google+ or Flickr or Twitter or whatever picture-sharing service I'm inclined toward on any given day.
I didn't miss (much) reading about what was going on the Real World. I was, after all, trying to relax.
One thing I did find myself itching to do was Tweet more — to short-form share immediate reactions (good, bad, indifferent) and pictures of things we saw and did as we saw and did them. I'm not sure my Massive Internet Empire suffered all that much from my inability to do so, but I found it a bit uncomfortable and twitchy.
I seem to have recovered now.
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I don't usually take my phone or any other electronic device with me when I backpack. It's important to occasionally let the silence in and get to know yourself.
It was certainly nice to be forced/able to just sit back, read a book, and relax.